Sunday, February 19, 2012
Music Review: Bernadette Peters keeps it short and sweet at ASO Gala
Posted by Andrew Alexander on Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 1:48 PM
- Firooz Zahedi
The show began with an overture, and Peters made a star's entrance with "Let Me Entertain You." In a fitting, sequined purple gown, she looked incredible. It's especially hard to believe the AJC preview article, which pointed out that Peters will celebrate her 64th birthday at the end of February.
Unfortunately, the quality of the amplification was not so good, and the sound suffered especially on big boisterous numbers like "Let Me Entertain You." The sound quality varies greatly depending on where you sit in Symphony Hall — it's one of the space's perennial problems — and unfortunately from where I was sitting, it was pretty awful: unbalanced, echoey, hollow, and undetailed. It was even hard to understand the between-song patter.
Things improved on quieter, more down-tempo numbers — the sound was less muddy at least — and it was possible to enjoy Peters' performance. What came through, in spite of the problems, was her ability to connect to each song, especially the work of Stephen Sondheim. "No One is Alone" from Into the Woods was a classic that shone. Peters' voice is not just accurate but also multifaceted; she can wrench drama and meaning from each word without seeming melodramatic, calculated, or phony. Sondheim writes complicated songs, but she makes everything seem simple and direct. She handled the strange interiority of "Losing My Mind" from Follies with its quiet build-up from hushed anxiety to confused anguish. It was like a mini-show all to itself.
"Fever" up on the piano was another high point — sexy, classy, campy, fun, it was a perfect match of number to performer. The Disney classic "When You Wish Upon a Star" surprisingly became a song for grown-ups in her capable hands. All the stuff about "dreams" and "wishing" came through clean of any creakiness or cliché and seemed fresh and resonant in her reading.
Although her connection to the music felt genuine, there was an aspect of the concert that felt rushed, even mechanical: It was quick. The concert seemed like it was about halfway over and was building to an intermission when she announced, "You've been a wonderful audience." The encore was great, but consisted of just one song: a lovely lullaby she wrote herself. The concert started off a little after 7:30 and wrapped up before 9. She could have been back in Manhattan by midnight.
Peters is a star whose concerts will always be a hot ticket, and in spite of the problems, I'd gladly go see her again even in a short show in the same venue. Symphony Hall's concrete boxiness is permanent, but she managed to bring some glamor, fun, sexiness, and intimacy to the space, which is no small feat. And it all went toward a good cause.
What we got was great. But come back, Bernadette. We hardly knew you.
Comments (3)
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That was the shortest concert I've ever attended. I felt a bit cheated. I've seen Bernadette in concert 3 times prior, and she performed for well over 1 hour (if memory serves me right, most times she was on stage for around 2 hours). I'm not sure why this concert was so short.
The sound was also terrible. This was my first visit to ASO and will be a bit more cautious when purchasing tickets for future performances. I was also unaware of the time change. My tickets showed a start time of 8pm, luckily I arrived in time for the modified start of 7:30. I feel bad for those who arrived on time, they would have gotten a 30-40 minute show. On a side note, Bernadette was great as always.
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For the record, I LOVE Bernadette Peters. I listen to the Follies soundtrack daily, and have been a fan since Song & Dance. But everything posted so far has been dead on. I remember listening to Bernadette perform Send in the Clowns in A Little Night Music and literally crying. This time I was crying about my view and the sound. I am NEVER going back to ASO. From my seat in the 2nd row balcony, depending on where Ms. Peters stood I might or might not be able to see her. And the muddy sound of her first number pretty much set the tone for the evening. OK. And for the record, I hope Fever was supposed to be funny cause that's how it came off. Had it not been for Losing my Mind and the songs from Into the Woods I would have been royally P-O-ed rather than just mildly disappointed.
Rob H: I was so disappointed she didn't sing Send in the Clowns! I saw her in Little Night Music and I've never heard anyone sing that song like she did. I was also sad that Rose's Turn from Gypsy was omitted (she was great in that as well). Oh well!
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